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Bank donates to help disaster-struck co-ops

The Co-operative Bank donates £20K to emergency appeal to fund the development of co-operatives in disaster hit areas across the World

Disaster campaign being led by Co-operatives UK to help co-operative development in flood and hurricane ravaged regions

The Co-operative Bank has today (Thursday, 14 September 2017), announced it has donated £20,000 to an emergency appeal fund, set up by Co-operatives UK, to fund the development of co-operatives in countries ravaged by hurricanes and flooding in recent weeks.

Over the past month, natural disasters, such as flooding in South East Asia, and hurricanes across the Caribbean have left communities devastated, with livelihoods, business and lives being lost as a result of the disasters. The emergency fund will be distributed to co-operatives on the ground in these disaster hit areas to allow them to rebuild. Co-operatives are a vital source of helping communities find their feet again and provide long-term sustainability.

The Bank’s donation will be split equally to help co-operatives in the Caribbean and South East Asia.

Liam Coleman, Chief Executive Officer, at The Co-operative Bank, said: “The recent natural disasters in Asia and the Caribbean are a human tragedy with lives, homes and livelihoods lost as a result of the devastation. Our donation, along with those from the wider Co-operative Movement will help those communities who need it most by giving long-term sustainable development to those co-operatives who play such an important role in the communities in which they are based. As a Bank that is defined by its Values and Ethics, our co-operative heritage and ongoing commitment to the co-operative sector is vitally important to us and we hope this donation can make a real difference to co-operators who are rebuilding after recent events.”

Ed Mayo, CEO of Co-operatives UK, said: "The floods and storms are devastating the lives of millions of people. We know that co-ops offer a vital tool for people to rebuild their homes and livelihoods together. We are encouraging UK co-ops to donate what they can to this emergency appeal to support the development of co-operatives that will aid long-term sustainable reconstruction. This is people to people support."